Recovering from COVID-19: Choose Love, Not Fear
In late March, I had a pretty challenging "learning opportunity" handed to me by the Universe in the form of COVID-19. I brushed off the seriousness of it while I was going through it (probably from extensive positive psychology and Taoist spirituality training). At the time, I focused on my belief in Chinese medicine and the self-healing power of the body, aided by a healthy dose of appropriate herbs, Qigong exercises, and plenty of self-administered acupuncture/acupressure as prescribed by my spiritual teacher and herbal wizard, Dr. Lu. I was pretty confident, even at my sickest, that I would pull through without having to go to the hospital.
Months later, when I finally felt back to my normal self (mid-July), I realized how bad it had been -- there were many moments, especially at night, when I felt I was choking and couldn't breathe; I was completely bedridden with fever, aches, chills, and pounding headaches for two and a half weeks, and pretty much mostly in bed for another 2-3 weeks (except for eating, Qigong, and going to the bathroom) after the worst was over.
For about three weeks, I had zero appetite and no sense of taste or smell, and could barely get out of bed to swallow down soup. At one point, I set up a station next to my bed with a gallon of water, my herbs, trail mix, and pre-brewed cold prevention tea, because it was almost too much effort for me to bend down to pour myself water, much less get out of bed. I also happened to get my period at the same time, and it was an unusually heavy one that lasted for 2 weeks, so I was deeply worried that I would need a transfusion.
I'm completely 100% convinced that my extensive experience with Chinese medicine, my belief in the power of Qigong and herbs, and the expert guidance of my teacher saved me. The above video shares the acupressure tips that Dr. Lu learned directly from his teacher, Dr. Xi-Hua Xu, that both prevents and treats COVID-19 and its symptoms. The second movement in particular kept my chest and breathing passages open especially during times when I thought I would suffocate or had coughing attacks.
I also firmly believe that my Taoist spiritual beliefs and positive psychology training kept me on the path towards healing, not dying. When I was at my sickest and entertaining thoughts that I would need to go to the hospital, I reminded myself that as long as I understood the purpose of this illness, I would recover. If I chose to see the good and not give into doubt or fear, I would create a reality of recovery and well-being. If I believed in the unconditional love of my body and in the Universe's unconditional promise to support me lovingly, I would heal.
Thoughts become things; you create your own reality based on what you focus on. During the times when I couldn't change my anxious thoughts and started to panic, Qigong provided a powerful shortcut to connect me to the path of health at a deeper level of awareness that goes far beyond the mind, or indeed, human perception. The power of Qigong comes from its multi-dimensional mystery and the infinite intelligence of Qi and health consciousness. When my rational mind started to doubt, I knew I could use Qigong to quiet my mind and listen clearly to my intuitive self, which has a spirit-level awareness of the greater purpose of life and its innate goodness. Everything happens for a reason, all reasons are for good; can you see the good?
Immersed in the consciousness and magical mystery of my teacher's Qigong lineage, I couldn't help but listen to my inner being, which always brought me back to faith and love: faith in my body to heal and the healing power of its love. And so that was the reality that I created. The purpose of reality is to show you what is going on in your inner reality, i.e. your mind and your vibration. There are no exceptions. If I was to recover, I had to keep my vibration steadily on faith and love, the real purpose of going through COVID-19, which was to lead me back to the real purpose of my life, which I knew I hadn't finished yet.
I emerged from this experience with a profound appreciation of my Qigong school's lineage and its power to lead me back to health and purpose. To this end, I also want to share Dr. Lu's other simple yet effective tips for prevention and immune system support (from his website):
1) Practice each movement 2-4 minutes daily.
2) Include more warming foods in your diet.
3) Get plenty of sleep to help your body restore.
4) While washing your hands, wash your mind with good thoughts.
